


when i'm with you i am home

by smile_for_me



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, If I do say so myself, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, it's cute, its just. really sweet, kageyama loves his bf, shameless fluff, that's all this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 00:46:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13752705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smile_for_me/pseuds/smile_for_me
Summary: Tobio remembers his mother telling him how college was when you “found your place,” whatever that means. It took five semesters, but he thinks he understands it a little better now. Coming home to a space that he helped put together, to a place that he created with someone he loves, feels more like home to him than anything truly had before.





	when i'm with you i am home

**Author's Note:**

> for skylark (http://kagstsukki.tumblr.com/), i hope this makes you smile! i loved literally all of the prompts you gave me (bc i'm trash for established fluff) and this ended up being almost 3k words of kags admiring tsukki so i hope that's something you enjoy.
> 
> once again, thank you to bri (https://anime-does-it-best.tumblr.com/) for betaing. thank you to hqvalentineexchange (https://hqvalentineexchange.tumblr.com/) for setting this up! this is the second fic i got to write for the exchange and it was a lot of fun!
> 
> (also title is from home by gnash ft johnny yukon)

"There is someone right here who knows you more than you do, who is making room on the couch, who is fixing a meal, who is putting on your favorite record, who is listening intently to what you have to say, who is standing there with you, face to face, hand to hand, eye to eye, mouth to mouth. There is no space left uncovered. This is where you belong."

-Sufjan Stevens,  _Michigan Essay_

 

* * *

 

Tobio takes a deep breath, the familiar scent of Kei’s soap flooding his senses as his eyes flutter closed for a second, the stress of the past week--the most grueling finals week so far--fading as exhaustion settles into his bones.

 

“You didn’t say earlier, how did the English test go?” Kei asks, and it’s barely more than a whisper—a vibration Tobio feels against his chest.

 

He makes a noise of protest, lifting his head and opening his eyes to glare at him. “Let’s not talk about school for at least a week, okay?”

 

Kei’s lips curl upward with the laugh that escapes his lips, and Tobio can’t help but smile as well, leaning down to peck a kiss onto his nose and laughing when Kei’s face scrunches up.

 

“Fine, fine. We won’t talk about school,” he concedes, and Tobio feels arms wrapping around him, rubbing his back in that familiar, comforting way. Kei has that look on his face—the one he gets when they’re watching tv before bed and he’s about to fall asleep. Tobio can’t help but smile at his sleepy eyes and leans down again, pressing their lips together this time in a slow, lazy kiss that still leaves him feeling vaguely light-headed after almost three years.

 

He pulls back after a moment and lays his head down again, tucking his face into the side of Kei’s neck and humming contentedly as his boyfriend’s arms settle around him once more. It’s nice to see him finally relaxed—the complete opposite of how he’d been acting at the beginning of that week.

 

* * *

 

 “Who even has finals at 8 am on a Monday… Just my luck…”

 

Tobio watched silently from his perch on the counter, coffee mug warming his cold hands, as Kei darted around the small studio apartment. Tobio knew he didn’t sleep well last night and he was nervous about the exam he had that morning—but the amount of anxiety he was feeling was very obvious now. Hair a mess and jacket unbuttoned, Kei was eating a piece of toast while trying to put on his shoes and pack his bag simultaneously, muttering to himself all the while.

 

“We’re not gonna need the full three hours, anyway, he could have let us come an hour later,” Kei lamented, loud enough that Tobio knew to hum in agreement at the complaint he had heard many times already.

 

Tobio was still in his pajamas, a pair of flannel pants and a long-sleeve shirt he had taken from Kei. He didn’t have any exams on the first day, and he didn’t plan on getting dressed until he needed to leave to meet Kei for lunch. The only reason he was awake right now was because he had heard Kei talking to himself as he got ready and figured he should get up in case he needed to intervene.

 

His suspicions that he might need to step in had been right because even once Kei had successfully gotten his boots on, he was still looking frazzled and pouring some coffee into a travel mug. His eyes were a little crazy behind his glasses and Tobio sighed softly, setting his coffee mug down and sliding off the counter. Going toward the door and grabbing Kei’s scarf, Tobio turned to look at Kei when he came to leave, distractedly buttoning up his coat. Kei looked up to see him standing in the way of his exit and frowned,

 

“What? I need to go,” he said as Tobio wrapped the scarf around his neck silently, interrupting his questioning by pressing a kiss to his lips—a kiss that Kei returned easily. Tobio didn’t pull away until Kei’s hands were resting on his waist. Knowing he had his boyfriend’s full attention, he pulled back, looking up at him with a soft smile on his face.

 

“Calm down,” he said quietly, letting go of his scarf and resting his hands on Kei’s shoulders temporarily. “You’re gonna do great. Stop being stupid,” he added, pressing one more quick kiss to his lips before patting his chest and stepping away.

 

Kei was blushing, looking a little embarrassed as he adjusted his glasses and reached for the doorknob.

 

“Yeah, okay,” he said, glancing back at him as he stepped out the door. “I’ll see you for lunch?”

 

Tobio nodded, leaning against the doorframe. “I’ll see you for lunch,” he confirmed, smiling at him. “I love you. You’re gonna do great.”

 

“Thanks,” Kei replied over his shoulder, walking away. “I love you, too.”

 

* * *

 

Tobio lifts his head up again, looking down at Kei whose eyes are still closed, lips parted slightly. This close he can see the freckles dusting his cheeks and nose—almost too light to notice against the soft skin. They’re remnants from Kei’s childhood, Tobio, assumes, thinking of a little boy with blond hair and glasses running around in the sun.

 

Kei’s eyelashes are the same light color of his hair, often making them difficult to see in the sunlight, and Tobio stares for a moment at them, wondering if they were longer in his youth like Tobio’s mother tells him his were. The image of a small boy reaches his mind again, light--almost translucent--eyelashes nearly reaching his cheeks when he blinks.

 

Tobio’s eyes wander downwards, landing on the delicate pink of Kei’s lips and smiling a little, knowing how soft they are from experience. Before they got together, Tobio often found himself getting distracted by those lips, wondering what they’d feel like against his own. He still gets distracted these days, but no longer out of curiosity.

 

Looking back up to his eyes, Tobio finds himself reaching with one hand, resting it on the side of Kei’s face and rubbing his thumb against the delicate skin of his cheek.

 

That gets Kei to open his eyes, eyebrows furrowed as he squints up at him in that way he does when he’s not wearing his glasses. Tobio watches the skin around his eyes crinkle, a furrow appearing between his eyes that Tobio smooths away with his thumb

 

“What are you doing?” Kei asks.

 

“Mm. Just admiring my boyfriend,” Tobio answers, grinning when Kei’s skin heats up beneath his hand, light skin turning pink as he blushes.

 

“Shut up,” he grumbles, shoving Tobio’s hand away from his face though the touch has no real heat behind it.

 

Tobio can’t help but laugh, leaning down and pressing a few kisses to his cheeks, his nose, his forehead.

 

* * *

 

Tobio walked into the library, easily spotting the table his friends were at in the crowded room by looking for Hinata’s eye-catching hair. Dropping his backpack onto their table with a sigh, he completely ignored their friends in favor of falling into Kei’s lap dramatically.

 

His boyfriend raised his eyebrows, pulling his headphones off and smiling a little when Tobio sighed loudly again, just for Kei’s benefit.

 

“How was your exam?” he asked as he scooted away from the table a little, giving Tobio enough room to adjust his position so he was actually sitting in Kei’s lap, arm draped over his shoulders.

 

“I don’t wanna think about it,” Tobio whined, resting his forehead against the side of Kei’s face. Even with his boyfriend’s help studying, he wasn’t entirely confident in his ability to pass the class.

 

Kei hummed a little, rubbing Tobio’s arm, and Tobio could feel himself relaxing even just at that. “Look on the bright side,” he murmured into Tobio’s ear. “Now you only have that literature paper left. You’re almost done.”

 

Tobio nodded a little, eyes falling shut as Kei’s words washed over him, the soft cadence easing away a bit of the tension lingering in his shoulders from the test.

 

“I guess you’re right,” he mumbled back, pressing a kiss to his cheek and smiling himself when he felt Kei do the same. Then Kei’s head was turning, their lips pressing together in a practiced dance. Tobio momentarily forgot about being in the library with Hinata, Yamaguchi, and Yachi sitting around the table with them, about the stress of the week pressing down on his shoulders, about the oppressive feeling of panic in the air. He forgot about it all for a moment, the feeling of Kei’s lips—slightly chapped from the cold—on his taking priority. That is, until they were interrupted.

 

“You know, we _were_ actually being productive before you came, Kageyama,” Hinata said, causing Tobio to pull back from the kiss and send a frown in his friend’s direction.

 

“Nothing’s stopping you from being productive now, Hinata,” he shot back.

 

“I can’t study if you two are making out right in front of me!” Hinata answered, voice rising a little in pitch—he was obviously as on-edge about finals week as everyone else in the school judging by how easy it was to rile him up. Tobio heard Kei stifle a chuckle and couldn’t help smiling himself.

 

“You’re just jealous because you don’t have a girlfriend,” Tobio replied, punctuating his point by planting another kiss on Kei’s lips, though he pulled away from his one after just a second. Ignoring Hinata’s indignant yelp, he looked to Kei. “Come get lunch with me?”

 

Kei nodded. “Get off of me so I can get my stuff,” he said shoving Tobio off his lap, though his touch was gentle. Tobio waited, slinging his own backpack over his shoulder as Kei crammed his laptop and headphones into his book bag and stood, bidding their friends farewell as he took Tobio’s hand in own, leading them toward the door.

 

* * *

 

Kei’s laughter is one of Tobio’s favorite sounds to hear, and his ears are filled with it as he continues to pepper kisses on the soft skin of Kei’s face. He’s grinning when he finally lifts his head, admiring the pink on his boyfriend’s cheeks as his laughter dies down.

 

Kei’s blinking up at him slowly, his hands warm against the skin on Tobio’s back where they’re resting, having slid under the soft fabric of his sweater. Tobio smiles at him, letting his head fall back to its spot against Kei’s shoulder and listening to Kei’s soft breathing for a few minutes. Kei’s breaths even out after a few minutes and Tobio carefully lifts his head again, unsurprised to see Kei’s eyes are closed again, asleep.

 

Tobio’s heart swells as he looks down at him, that warm fuzziness that comes when his boyfriend is being particularly adorable filling his chest. Even after over two years of being together, he’s still amazed sometimes at how…soft and precious Kei can look when he’s not wearing a sarcastic smirk, the angles of his face softer in the dim light from the street lights outside. Tobio’s always found himself lucky to be the one who gets this—the soft, quiet side to Kei that he wishes everyone could see, that many people wouldn’t believe was there hiding under the harsh exterior.

 

His soft side is best exemplified as this, Tobio thinks as he looks down at his boyfriend, asleep, cheeks still tinged pink from his previous laughter and his glasses pushed up so they’re resting in his hair.

 

* * *

 

Tobio opened the door quietly, well aware that noise carried to every corner of the small studio apartment, and Kei was probably asleep. Coming home from practice much later than normal after an impromptu practice match to blow off some of the steam from finals week--which they were still only halfway through--he was surprised to see the lamp by their small kitchen table on and carefully set down his things to go over to it, finding his boyfriend asleep on top of his Econ textbook.

 

Tobio couldn’t help but laugh a little, snap a picture, and admire his boyfriend for a moment—the soft hair and pale skin, the shadows his eyelashes and the careful slope of his nose casted onto the page he’s laying on, the way his glasses were dislodged from his nose, pressing into his forehead in a way that couldn’t be comfortable. The skin around his nose was a little red—a leftover from the cold he had been fighting for the past few days. His lips were pink and looking extremely kissable, but Tobio resisted the urge and instead flicked the light off, shaking Kei’s shoulder gently to wake him. The position he was in didn’t look remotely comfortable, and Tobio was sure Kei would appreciate moving to an actual bed.

 

“Kei,” he murmured, pressing a couple kisses to the side of Kei’s face as he blinks awake.

 

“Mm…Tobio?” he asked, voice rough from sleep.

 

“Mhm,” Tobio answered, pulling him to his feet gently. “Let’s sleep in an actual bed, hm?” he suggested with a smile, guiding him the short distance to their bed and helping him under the covers. Tobio slid the glasses off his face and set them on his nightstand, smiling fondly down at him where Kei already seemed to be back asleep. But, when Tobio moved away to get ready for bed, Kei spoke up.

 

“Where are you going? C’mere,” he mumbled, a hand reaching out for him.

 

Tobio glanced at the pile he had left his things in and decided he could deal with it the next day, slipping into bed with him after taking off his jeans. Taking the hand held out to him, he let that hand pull him closer until they were nestled together, Kei humming contentedly near the back of his head.

 

“I love you,” Kei mumbled as their fingers twined together, and Tobio couldn’t help but smile.

 

“I love you too.”

 

* * *

 

Tobio watches Kei for another moment, their apartment quiet except for the sounds of the occasional car driving by. Before they moved in together, Tobio imagined every night would be like this—lying with each other and talking about their days. He had definitely been wrong. With both of them in their junior year, they were busier than ever—Tobio especially so with practice three days a week, and either practice, matches, or team bonding activities every weekend. They’re lucky to make just one meal a week together with the way their schedules worked out. And even if he does get to sleep in the same bed as Kei every night, he feels like he doesn’t see Kei any more than he did during the two years previous.

 

Regardless, moments like these made the decision worth it. This, and the remnants of the two of them scattered throughout the space. The dinosaur figurine Kei has from home sitting on a shelf next to Tobio’s favorite stuffed bear from his childhood. They have a wall covered in pictures of their families, their friends, the two of them. Tobio’s favorite shows the two of them sitting side-by-side in a restaurant booth the night they had gone out with their friends for Kei’s birthday a couple months ago, taken by one of their friends took it when the waiter brought Kei a piece of cake. Kei’s wearing a ridiculous “birthday crown” of Hinata’s creation and an annoyed smile. Next to him, Tobio is grinning, caught mid-laugh as he looks at Kei with an almost disgusting fondness.

 

Tobio remembers his mother telling him how college was when you “found your place,” whatever that means. It took five semesters, but he thinks he understands it a little better now. Coming home to a space that he helped put together, to a place that he created with someone he loves, feels more like home to him than anything truly had before. Not that his childhood home was lacking, there’s just something different about this. His mother just smiled when he told her just that last time they skyped; he thought he could see tears in her eyes.

 

He looks down at Kei once more and sighs a little, absorbing the view for another long moment before leaning down and pressing kisses to his cheeks and lips until his eyes flutter open.

 

“What?” Kei groans, bringing his hands up to rub his eyes.

 

“Let’s go to bed,” Tobio answers, chest filling with warmth at the sight as he crawls off of him and holds his hand out with a yawn.

 

They shuffle to their bed, hand-in-hand, and fall under the covers together, curling around each other out of habit and to ward off the cold. Kei falls back asleep quickly, but Tobio lies awake for a few minutes, thinking.

 

When he was a freshman and met Kei and Hinata and everyone else, he wasn’t sure what he was looking for in college. He didn’t know what he wanted to study, wasn’t all that interested in dating someone, only really knew that he wanted to play volleyball for as long as he possibly could.

 

Now, he thinks, he was looking for someplace to belong. After a childhood of being shown mostly disapproval by his peers, he must have been looking for acceptance, and to find the love and acceptance that he had was beyond anything he had ever expected.

 

He looks into the darkness at his boyfriend and smiles a little, letting his eyes fall shut.

 

This is where he belongs.


End file.
